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The great Top SEO Trumps Blog Off has begun!
We have been slaving away creating the top SEO Game of the Decade. To get your hands on one of these limited edition Top SEO Trumps packs we are inviting you to take part in our Top SEO Trumps Blog Off!
Here’s a preview of how the cards look:
Simply write a blog post that meets the conditions below to be in for a chance to win.
There are 46 Top SEO Faces from the SEO world, each ranked by:
- Popularity on the web
- Twitter followers
- Google+ contacts
- Fanciablility (we are keeping our judges a secret for this category)
- Geek Cred
Can you guess who is hiding behind Danny Sullivan? If you can’t guess or want to see the other 45 Top SEOs then you can follow all those who made it into to pack by creating your own SEO circle from this one we made earlier, just click on the image to view or add this circle in Google+:
35 Limited Edition Top SEO Trumps packs are up for grabs.
Anyone can enter: SEOs, marketing people, social media specialists, bloggers, content marketers, and students, anyone who thinks they can write a good blog.
There are so many ways of winning that the playing field is wide open, there is a really good chance of winning so it’s worth a go. As all great SEO’s and Content marketers know, generating great content is just par for the course anyway. What have you got to lose?
Not only that, if you are one of our 35 finalists we will publicise your fine post using our many social media accounts, and link to it from all of our resources and blogs, as well as on our own well ranked site, so it would be good for your SEO too.
All you have to do is what you do best: write a great blog post.
How to win
- Write a blog post that contains a link either to one of these links
http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/seo-top-trumps OR http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/seo/
- Tweet a link to your post to: @sbttraining with the message: “My SEO Trumps entry” and the Hashtag #seotoptrumps
It’s as easy as that!
For example if this was my entry I would tweet:
@sbttraining My Top SEO Trumps entry http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/seo-top-trumps (or shortened version) #seotoptrumps
You can publish your blog post anywhere (not necessarily on your own blog) as long as you identify yourself as the author somewhere in the post and tweet the link with hashtag as above.
After the closing date April 1st 2012
Votes will be counted and verified and prizes will go to the authors of the winners of the following categories:
- The 5 funniest posts
- The 5 most original posts
- The 5 most useful posts
- The top 5 posts that drive the most traffic to the destination link.
- The 5 top most liked posts on Facebook – where that information is available
- The 5 most +1’s on Google Plus
- The 5 most tweeted posts – where that information is available
Good luck and get blogging!
Become a future top SEO trump with our many SEO related courses. SEO training will provide you with the best practice approach to optimising websites and content for higher rankings, you can then use the knowledge learnt on our Social Media course to market your website and build strong brand identity. If you want to measure how your site is doing (and your social media efforts) then Google Analytics training is essential, while Advanced Google Analytics training is available for those who already use it on a regular basis. Don’t forget, we also now provide Content Marketing training – great for building brand and author identity whilst gaining valuable backlinks!
Posted by Heather Buckley in Competitions, Facebook Tips and Tricks, Google+, Guest Blogs, News, Offers, SEO, Social Media on January 25th, 2012| No Comments »
Look into my crystal ball...
2012 has historically been a hot year for predictions. The finishing of the Mayans cryptic calendar has been touted as a sign of the ‘end of the world’ by many a pessimist, citing Nostradamus’ prophecies as the evidence they need that the end is nigh.
Luckily, not all predictions for next year have to be so gloomy; there are plenty of developments yet to come out in the tech world. here are our top SEO predictions for the new year.
Google service integration
Now the most used browser on the web, Google Chrome has always offered more than just a smooth and seamless web browsing experience. With Google having their fingers in a lot of pies, many of their services are becoming integrated with the browser.
Google services such as Google Docs, which is already proving itself as an excellent file sharing facility, and Google+ (which is covered as part of our Social Media training course), the rival to Facebook which is picking up steam, will find themselves more embedded with Google’s software, encouraging a growth in collaboration and sharing.
The ability to install a wide variety of apps and extensions to your browser not only gives you a tailored browsing experience it also opens the platform up to being more than just a browser. Expect to see these built upon, with Chrome borrowing from Google’s Android mobile operating system’s seamlessly customisable app and widget based set up.
The new social sharing revolution
While Facebook is still the daddy of the Social Media world, Google+ Business profile pages still have a lot to offer. Using these pages to share content will become a vital tool in your SEO tool box, especially with the potential of Google+ having more of a stronger bearing on Google’s search results in the near future. Read the rest of "SEO Predictions for 2012"
Posted by Daniel Twigg in Mobile App Development, News, SEO, Social Media on December 21st, 2011| 3 Comments »
Christmas Cards – the first form of mass communication?
Sir Henry Cole commissioned the first Christmas card in London in 1843. He was a busy and rich businessman who had tired of the practice of writing letters to friends and family every festive season (which was traditional then for those who could afford postage costs).
He came up with the idea and commissioned illustrator John Callcott Horsley to design it. The illustration of a family with a child drinking wine proved controversial but turned out to be a phenomenal success. How many business ideas still remain popular after 100 years?
First Christmas card
So what has that got to do with Social Media?
Well, Cole had helped introduce the Penny Post three years earlier. This allowed people living in Great Britain and Ireland to send letters weighing 1/2 ounce or less to anywhere within the kingdom for one penny. Sir Henry Cole had played a leading role in pushing for the Penny Post, believing cheap and easy communication was needed for the growth of business. The masses took advantage of this to send Christmas cards; it was no longer only for the rich and aristocratic. So you see the Christmas card was the first commercial mass communication system, designed as a way to offer seasonal greetings without having to write out hundreds of personal messages.
Make something special and original
How do you feel when someone makes something just for you? A homemade Christmas card, a hand knitted scarf, a Christmas bouquet made from hand picked holly tied with a crimson satin ribbon. You feel special. Successful social media marketing is all about making people feel special, it’s about appealing to what makes us human, it’s about personalisation, connectivity and conversation. Read the rest of "Social Media Marketing, It’s Christmas Every Day"
Posted by Heather Buckley in News, Social Media on December 20th, 2011| No Comments »
Facebook’s latest blog asks you to consider that the person sitting next to you in a crowded place is likely to know a friend of a friend of a friend of yours. The article argues that the widespread adoption Social media makes this is even more likely. The changes in the way we consume and share content makes it likely that any post you read, share or publish on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ etc. could be read by one or more people on your commute to work.
Make sure you’re up to speed with all the latest Facebook changes with our COMPLETE GUIDE TO FACEBOOK TIMELINE. After reading you’ll know about all the new features and we’ve even provided a FREE Facebook Timeline Photoshop template so that you can create your own cover image!
On Monday Facebook released two studies that looked at the ‘anatomy of Facebook’, the most interesting takeaway from the data released is that there are only 4 degrees of separation between Facebook users. This figure that has shrunk since 2008 when it was originally claimed by Frigyes Karinthy and popularised by a play written by John Guare, that everyone was on average approximately six steps away, by way of introduction, from any other person on Earth. As social networks and connections grow, is Marshall McLuhan’s Global Village becoming a Global Cul De Sac?
Anatomy of Facebook
This isn’t the first study of its kind. Earlier this year research showed the average degree of separation between Twitter users to be only 3.43. However, due to limitations of that study and the more common practice of following celebrities and weak acquaintances, the Facebook study is grabbing more headlines. Unlike the Twitter study, which was limited in the number of tests, Facebook examined all 721 million active Facebook users. That’s over 10% of the world’s population! Add to this the more personal approach to Facebook in which connections are more likely to be both real-life and digital and yesterday’s figures give the most accurate study of social networks to date.
Facebook’s study shows that:
- 721 million users studies share 69 billion friendships
- 50% of Facebook users have over 100 friends while the average friend count is 190 (skewed by users with 1000′s of friends)
- 99.6% of all pairs on Facebook are connected by 6 hops (5 degrees)
- 92% are connected by only 5 hops (4 degrees)
- The number of hops has decreased from an average of 5.28 in 2008 to the 4.74 in 2011
- 4 degrees becomes 3 degrees when the data is restricted to single countries
- 84% of connections are between users in the same country
- Users tend to cluster towards age groups, especially for younger generations
While this article looks at global connections it is interesting to note that a large number of connections are local/age based. This trend is strongest for users around their 20′s – as they’re more likely to befriend school, college and university acquaintances and not have made many connections around the world. However, for the sharing of information a somebody in Brighton only needs one friend in another country to share their content and they hav global reach. Read the rest of "Social Media’s Four Degrees of Separation and the Global Village"
Posted by Craig Charley in Facebook Tips and Tricks, Google+, News, Social Media on November 24th, 2011| No Comments »
Image by gnuckx on flickr
If you are regularly guest blogging and publishing content in order to get quality back-links and provide fresh content for your website, then we think you are doing a great service for your SEO and Social Media strategy.
After the lastest Google freshness update, content marketing has become the most powerful weapon in your artillery, the most respected authorities in the world of SEO are all agreed on this one. Looking for the best and most popular posts on the web is a must if you want to keep up with what’s hot and what’s popular (this is all important for those vital media shares) but what is acceptable and what amounts to simple plagiarism? It’s not just a moral dilema, Google will penalise duplicate content.
If you need more help with your SEO and social media then we offer some great deals on SEO Training, Google Analytics courses and social media training. Below Christopher Fielden, a published author, offers his opinions on the subject of plagiarism - all in his own words!
Plagiarism Definition
If you nick someone else’s idea and pretend it is your own, that’s plagiarism.
Inspiration Definition
If you see something which tickles your imagination enough to write an original story, that’s inspiration.
Examples of the Differences Between Plagiarism & Inspiration
If you went to see Lord of the Rings in the cinema and then decided it ‘inspired’ you to write a book about Rodeo Shaggins and his landscape designer, Jan-Flys Ganges, who discover a magical toe ring which has been imbued with the wrath of the dark lord Flower-on and will bring an end to all that is peaceful by covering the land with the unholy stench of ghastly garlic gases unless the ring is transported across Middle Birth and thrown into the fiery belly of Mount Bloom, that is stealing someone else’s ideas. That is plagiarism.
Read the rest of "Why Inspiration Should Never Party With Plagiarism"
Posted by Heather Buckley in New Free Resources, News, SEO, Social Media on November 21st, 2011| No Comments »
Yesterday, Google unveiled Business Pages for Google+, a feature they’ve been promising for months. At first only a handful of businesses were able to create a page but it now seems (at least for us!) that Google have opened up business pages to the public and business pages are springing up left, right and centre.
Before you do anything else – circle our page on Google+ by clicking this button:
Google+ Business Page Layout
Here’s how our brand new Google+ business page looks:
As the page is similar to a personal profile you can use our guide to pimping your Google+ profile on business pages too. Make sure you stand out from the crowd!
The business page concept will be very familiar to those who use Facebook Pages. Even the way you switch between personal and business profiles with a drop down menu is straight from Facebook: Read the rest of "Google+ Business Pages Comprehensive Guide"
Posted by Heather Buckley in Google+, News, Social Media on November 8th, 2011| 1 Comment »
UPDATE: You no longer have to install a preview of Facebook Timeline – it has rolled out worldwide and is no mandatory. But don’t fret! You can read all about how to set up your profile before showing it to the world in our Complete Facebook Timeline Guide. We cover how to set a cover image, how to change your privacy settings, how to use the new features and even how to delete your profile if you don’t like Facebook anymore!
Facebook has officially announced the new Facebook Profile changes that will radically change the way we see and use Facebook. They demonstrated it earlier this week at the f8 conference.
Update: Due to an attempted law suit by Chicago-based Timelines.com Facebook have postponed the launch of Facebook timeline. Timelines.com’s plea for a temporary restraining order has been denied by a federal judge but Facebook have agreed to hold back on a full timeline launch until the parties meet in court on Tuesday. Interestingly the case has revealed that as of Friday over 1 million Facebook users have used the developer workaround to get the timeline early with 100-200 thousand extra sign ups per day.
The “Timeline” interface is more than just a surface redesign of the Facebook Profile.
The Timeline begins by showing users images in order of date. Newest information is presented in a Ticker on profile page, including “stories” about games that users have played, music listened to from Spotify and films watched from Netflix.
Below you can see Andy’s profile after he installed the preview:
Andy's Facebook Timeline in action.
Sean Corcoran a research analyst from Forrester called it “word of mouth on steroids”.
“This won’t look like the behavioural data some of us are used to in the display advertising market but eventually it could be even better if activity patterns are included – simply because it can be more relevant. Just imagine Ticketmaster sending you a custom offer for Radiohead tickets for you and your friend because you listened to their music together.”
Will timelines help Facebook regain it’s lead as the preferred Social Networking site?
Chris Saad, Echo co-founder, said after the announcement:
“Before f8 it was clear that Google+ was 1 or 2 years behind FB. Now they are 3 or 4,”
He went on to say that Facebook wields the ultimate “attention management platform” online.
Google have been the master data collectors for years, (see Why Google will rule the World). Sean Corcoran points out that Facebook enhanced user engagement data will provide more detail about a user’s content, behaviour and tastes over several years. I think that it’s good that Facebook have decided to do something radically different from Google+, it will become more about using both in different ways than about using one or the other.
Whilst Timeline is not yet available to everyone, we have found a quick fix for those not afraid of a bit of tech jiggery pokery there is an early preview available for developers. Don’t blame me if you don’t know what you are doing though.
How to install Timeline on your Facebook account:
- Click this link https://developers.facebook.com/apps
- Click on +Create New App
- Add the App display name and namespace, call it anything you like.
- The next page shows the App ID and Secret and other details.
- Click on Open Graph on the left sidebar
- Simply define what your dummy app is capable of, like ‘Making my first App’ and click Get Started
- The next page allows you to select Action Types
- Scroll down and click Save Changes and Next
- The next page allows you to select Time Aggregrations, scroll down and click Save and Finish.
Go you! You have created a dummy Facebook app using Open Graph.
Now when you visit your Facebook profile, Facebook will give you the option to switch to Timeline view.
If you need help to sharpen your skills in SEO, Social Media, Google Analytics, JavaScript, or Web Design take a look at the courses.
Posted by Heather Buckley in Facebook Tips and Tricks, Google+, News, Social Media on September 26th, 2011| 3 Comments »
We’ve now been running Social Media Courses here at Silicon Beach for nearly two years, and during that time we’ve seen some interesting shifts in the experience and objectives of the people attending, providing an insight in to how things have moved on in the fast-changing world of Social Media marketing.
Twelve months ago, a large proportion of people attending our courses had not yet set up business accounts on LinkedIn or Twitter, weren’t blogging, and often didn’t have personal Facebook profiles, or a Facebook business page.
Facebook business page admins can check out our range of Facebook Tips and Tricks here by the way!
The delegates coming through the door today have usually had some (if not all) of these accounts set up for a while, and attend the course to learn how to increase their friends, fans and followers and achieve specific business objectives, rather than just to find out how to use the different platforms and what buttons to click.
Here are some of the other changes we’ve observed…
Early Social Media Rush Replaced by More Considered Approach
There was certainly a period when people were flocking to use Social Media for their businesses because it was the “next big thing”. There was a sense that “we have to be on Twitter because everyone else is doing it”, rather than thinking about “how can we add value to our customers using Social Media?” or “How can we use Social Media to increase Brand Awareness ?” or “How can we use Social Media to build links for SEO?”
Today – a lot of our delegates have a much better idea of what is possible with Social Media, and want to get some ideas about how to manage their activity more effectively and creatively..
Our 2-day course is designed for both absolute beginners and those who are more interested in strategic issues like as how to plan a marketing campaign for a specific product or service using social media.
So whilst we look at the specific platforms and networks and teach people about how to use them, we also fit that in to the wider strategy, and get people thinking about where their customers are communicating, what content will be of most use or interest to them, and get people to generate ideas about the strategies that will work for them. Everyone leaves with an action plan for improving how they use social media.
Less Fear of Failure – More Long Term Thinking
Another trend we’ve seen is that people have become less wary of Social Media. When we first started delivering the courses, some businesses were quite wary of letting their staff loose on Twitter and Facebook – there had been some fairly high-profile Social Media disasters (remember United Airlines?!).
Last year, one delegate asked: ‘How do I protect my tweets on Twitter so no-one can see them?’ ‘Why would you want to do that?’ I replied. It can be done, but one aim of being on Twitter is to share what’s going on with your sector, your business and yourself. If your tweets are sufficiently informative or entertaining, retweets will mean that people in your network will pass your messages on to people in their own networks, and so the word about you will spread.
Read the rest of "How Social Media has Changed"
Posted by Guest Blogger in News, SEO, Social Media on August 1st, 2011| 3 Comments »
